Rule of Three
by SkyChasingDreamer
Summary: Sousuke is just fine with his setup with Rin, he doesn't want any of that to change because he absolutely, positively does not share. However, nothing could have prepared him for Makoto. SouMakoRin. Basically, three guys kinda falling in love with each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Rule of Three

**Pairing**: SouMakoRin

**Rating**: NC17

**Disclaimer**: No

**A/N**: Happy birthday precious Silvia!

**Rule of Three**

**Chapter One:**

**Sousuke Gets Tachibana'd**

Rin's fidgeting.

He only does that at certain times and in this instance, given Sousuke's experience, he thinks Rin has something he wants to tell him. He's being really subtle about it, he's trying to hide his fidgets behind actual movements, but Sousuke still sees them, he always does. Rin thinks he's so clever, but there's nothing he can really hide, especially if something is weighing on his mind like it seems to be now.

It's a Tuesday, which is one of their late days, and they're having their usual meager dinner – though calling it dinner at all is generous. Neither of them really cook – never ever trust Rin in the kitchen – and since they get back to their apartment around seven on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it's hard to get any motivation to find anything except energy bars to eat. Rin bitches about it a lot, but short of fast food, they're really kind of hopeless. Sousuke had gotten back to the apartment not fifteen minutes prior and he has a nasty white chocolate power bar that tastes like cardboard. Rin hates this flavor as well, that's why it's all that's left in the cupboard since both of them suck at remembering to go shopping.

Back to Rin, though, since he's being a little bitch with all his fidgeting and Sousuke is already in a shit mood over the stupid power bar. It seriously tastes like powdery biodegradable trash and though it's good for him with all the protein, it kind of repulses him at the same time. At least, this flavor does and Rin just _had_ to take the last double dark chocolate mint one they had left. But right, back to Rin, who's fidgeting and hasn't looked at Sousuke once since he sat down.

"I know something's up."

Rin stiffens and stares harder at the notebook in front of him that he totally hasn't been reading. "You're not going to like it."

"Best to get it over with then. If you want to tell me you ate the last good power bar we had, I already know." He gives the half-eaten _thing_ a glare. "Why did we even buy this flavor?"

"To try it."

"Never again."

"We've had this conversation a dozen times."

"And we'll have it a dozen times more until they're gone." Sousuke always gets crankier when he doesn't eat well, Rin is the same way. "What is it you've got to tell me?"

Rin hesitates. "I don't... really know how to say it."

"Did you break something again?"

"No."

"Get in a fight?"

"No."

Something cold lodges into Sousuke's gut as he asks, "Get hurt at practice?"

"No," Rin says quickly and shakes his head, "nothing like that."

"Then, what?"

Rin takes a deep breath and says in a rush, "I got a call from an old friend today and he mentioned that he's looking for a new place to stay since his old flatmate is getting married and I maybe told him he might be able to move in here or at least stay for awhile until he finds a place."

Sousuke blinks.

Lets it sink in.

Blinks again.

"What?"

"A friend –"

"Which one?"

"Tachibana Makoto."

Sousuke can barely put a face to the name, but that's mostly because he's having a hard time thinking at all. He's having trouble focusing, did he really just hear that right? The name sounds familiar, he feels like he should be more familiar with it than he is, but he's drawing so many blanks right now.

"You invited someone else to live here?"

"Kinda? He's really in a pinch, so I told him we'd meet him for dinner tomorrow night and talk it over."

"He actually called you for a place to stay?"

"No! We talk every once in awhile, you know this!" No, actually, Sousuke has no idea and he should really pay more attention when Rin tells him these things. "He called, we started talking, the apartment thing came up, and I made the offer!"

"Without asking me first?"

"I'm talking to you about it right now!"

"Yeah, _after_ you'd set up dinner with him!"

Sousuke doesn't remember standing up, but they're both on their feet and facing off against one another. They're so close he can feel Rin's breath against his chin and all he can see is blazing carmine.

"Oh, so this is _my _fault?"

"No shit! You invited him to live here!"

"He needs a place to stay!"

"That doesn't mean he has to stay _here_!"

"Would you just meet him properly? I swear you won't be disappointed!"

"Where the hell would he even sleep? We only have two bedrooms!"

Rin punches him right in the chest. "Stop yelling! This isn't something to get your panties all in a twist over!"

"Where," Sousuke asks, low and forcibly calm, "would he stay?"

"I thought I'd give him my room."

"And you'd, what? Sleep on the couch? As if you could handle that, you'd be whining about it after the first night and complain about your morning beauty rituals being interrupted."

Rin hits him again, harder this time, before replying acidly, "No. I was going to move in with you, but now I think I'll just have him move in with me."

Sousuke's brows scrunch. "Wait... seriously? You'd be okay sharing a room with me?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, we already fuck," Rin replies and a blush dusts over his cheeks. "And we shared a room back at Samezuka."

"That was different, we had bunk beds then."

The blush deepens.

There's something not quite right about this, something really isn't adding up.

Sousuke roughly grabs Rin's chin and forces him to keep looking. This is his best friend, someone he has known long enough to be able to read, and he can't fucking believe what he's seeing right now.

"What else aren't you telling me?"

Rin's eyes move away from him and there's something akin to guilt on his face that it stops Sousuke's anger up short. A smattering of color enters Rin's ears and dread begins to culminate deep inside Sousuke's body. Rin wouldn't just open their apartment up to just _anyone_, Rin isn't like that, Sousuke knows this. True, Tachibana Makoto – Sousuke thinks the name with venom – is some kind of old friend, but even then, _even then_, Rin wouldn't just invite him to stay unless...

"You want him."

Rin's eyes skitter farther away.

The jealousy and possessiveness that pierces through Sousuke's gut is enough to make him feel sick. He has spent _years_ lusting after his best friend and he's not going to let some big buffoon of a nobody get in the way of what he fucking earned.

"In what way do you want him?" Sousuke inquires after a long pause and he keeps a hold on Rin's chin even though he still refuses to look at him. The growing guilt on Rin's face makes Sousuke's stomach churn, he's hating this situation more and more every second. He gives Rin's chin a squeeze, hating even more the silence that just keeps right on stretching. "You want him in the same way you have with me, don't you?"

Rin nods. "I don't kn –"

"Absolutely not, he's _not_ going to stay here!"

"Don't be like that!" Rin snaps and smacks his hand away. "You just need to meet him!"

"Like hell!" Sousuke shouts, his voice is veritable ice.

"If you meet him and let him stay, you'll get to share a bed with me! Don't you want that?"

It's like Rin is taunting him on purpose – _of course_ he wants that, but not at the cost of adding some guy Rin _wants_ into the picture.

"How many others are there?"

"Huh?"

"If you want him too then there must be others." Rin flinches and Sousuke knows it's a low blow, but he's seriously pissed and goddamn it, Rin wanting others just _stings_. "Do you just see people on the street or in class and think about fucking them?"

"No! You know that's not fair, asshole! It's still only you! But Makoto, he's..." Rin runs a hand through his hair and sighs, it's a frustrated sound, "different."

"That makes no sense."

"It would if you met him."

"I _have_ met him, haven't I?"

He remembers that much, at least.

"Bullshit," Rin resorts with some bite and for a moment he almost looks stressed, like not even he knows quite how he feels. "_Really_ met him, you know, actually talk to him, spend time with him. You know of him, you can put a face to the name, but you've never," he scrapes a hand through his hair again with more force, "fuck, I don't know what I'm trying to say exactly. You haven't experienced him, I guess?" He scratches at his scalp and keeps his eyes on the floor. "Dammit! Just because I want him too doesn't mean I want you less, dumbass! And it definitely doesn't mean that he's even some kind of possibility!"

"I don't share."

"Would you just meet him?" Rin blurts and his entire face is now an explosion of red. "I can't explain Makoto! I can't just," Rin's faces emulates a confused snarl, "put him into words or some shit! So just come with me to meet with him tomorrow and I'll let you decide whether he can stay here or not!"

Sousuke takes a few steps away and thinks it over, so much of him completely against the idea. Temporary or not, opening up their apartment to some guy – some guy Rin _wants, _he can't get the poison out of the thought – doesn't sit right with him in the least.

There's a thump from above and a muffled, "_Keep quiet down there, brats_!"

That would be Yori, the aptly named elderly woman that lives above them and also hates them. She thinks they're loud good-for-nothings and the only reason they know that is because she made a point to tell them so when they'd met in the lobby one afternoon. She can only hear them when they get too loud in this one spot of their apartment and since they fight often enough, she isn't shy about making her presence known to shut them up. It certainly works now because they've taken a step farther away from each other and the silence is back, so loud it's ringing.

"Sit," Rin suggests and makes a show of sitting down in his own chair. "Take a deep breath, this really isn't that big of a deal."

"Yeah, finding out the roommate I've slept with for over a year suddenly wants someone else isn't a shock at all," Sousuke replies tartly and feels heavy as a stone when he forces himself to sit back down.

"Only _one_ other person and it's not sudden."

"It is to me."

Though, Sousuke isn't sure he has a right to get as worked up as he is right now. He and Rin are together, but they're also very much not. They fuck and sometimes sleep together, but they never talk about the future. What they have is in the moment and they don't discuss or plan their lives around each other, it's all about what works right _now_. Sousuke spent literal years wanting Rin, years yearning after him, and he can't even begin to count the many nights he spent thrusting into his own hand to Rin's image. The night they hooked up feels more like an accident than anything and hadn't changed their behavior toward each other at all, except that fucking became a normal part of their time together.

"Will you just agree to come with me tomorrow? You'll get the final say in whether he comes to stay with us or not, but only if you promise to keep an open mind and not just say no right away out of spite."

"I can't answer that yet." Sousuke picks up the power bar, but doesn't eat it, it's just nice to have something in his hand. He wants to punch something or just completely decimate a person – Makoto – so holding something helps curb the want. "Have you thought this through at all?"

"Not really, no."

"Shocker."

"It was a split second decision to throw the offer out there and yeah, I should've talked to you about it first. Happy?"

"Not when you say it with so much goddamn attitude."

Rin sighs. "Stop sulking, it's not the end of the world."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"God, you're a big baby, you know that?"

Rin pulls out some school stuff and goes back to pretending to study or review his notes or whatever the hell he's doing. It gives Sousuke some time to think and his thoughts are all over the place as well as oppressively negative. Rin wanting someone else is a sucker punch to his pride and makes him wonder what about himself isn't good enough, what parts of him and his personality aren't meeting all of Rin's needs. They've been so great with the arrangement they have for so long that Sousuke has gotten comfortable with it and now this?

There's a lot of holes in Rin's idea, too. It's farfetched and fairly ridiculous, there's not much substance behind it at all. How one phone call turned into this, Sousuke doesn't know, and he doesn't really care to know. One phone call? What could have happened in that one phone call? He doesn't care, he really doesn't, but he'd be stupid not to be at least a little curious.

"What if he's not even gay?"

"It doesn't matter."

"I'd say something like that really matters."

"Not with him."

"Because?"

Rin pauses and sighs heavily, a look of consternation coming onto his face. "It just _doesn't_. If his laughably obvious crush on his best friend is anything to go by, then he's bisexual at the very least and that's plenty of wriggle room to work with. He's really open minded, too, so I think if he cared about someone enough he'd be willing to try anything for them."

"And you're hoping he'll care enough about _you_ that he'll let you have your way with his body?"

"Yes and no."

"Let me guess, I need to meet him to understand?"

"Yeah," Rin replies with a shrug and a decisive nod.

"If he has a laughably obvious crush on his best friend, why isn't he with that person?"

To that, Rin looks uncertain. "I can't really say, I only know that he's not with anyone."

As Sousuke moodily settles down again with a soft growl, he really thinks about what he can remember of Makoto. He can picture him... kind of. He's the tall one, right? Well, taller than all the others. It's just hard to picture him clearly, all Sousuke can remember is background noise and nothing special. At the time, all Sousuke had been concerned with was Haru and the mess that is his relationship with Rin. It's so hard to see anything or anyone else when Haru and Rin are together, their competitiveness and what Haru does to Rin is just so blinding. So, Sousuke remembers Makoto, but mostly he just remembers him being the tallest person in the group of nobodies. During the relay, Sousuke hadn't looked over, he'd only had eyes for his own lane.

Then, there's yet another colossal problem with this whole disaster.

"What if I'm not attracted to him?"

Rin thinks about that and even appears to actually consider it before he's shrugging it off.

"You will be."

"You're so sure?"

"You're my best friend, I know you."

"But somehow you didn't know how much I'd hate this idea, I'm starting to question your judgment."

"You don't think I've thought about this?" Rin yells, a burst of emotion flooding out, and he throws his pencil at Sousuke's head. "I know it's fucked up, I know it's weird, and I don't understand it myself, so it'd be nice if you could _at least_ appreciate that I'm being honest with your stupid ass instead of having you act like it's my fault I feel the way I do! I mean, shit, yeah, okay, it _is _my fault, but I didn't _choose_ to feel this way, I don't _want_ any complications or any of that emotional bullshit, I just want to be open and honest and see how it goes! Christ, you're really a fucking pain in the ass sometimes!" His rant isn't over as he stands and paces a little in the same way he does when he's anxious and looking for something to clean. "You have lost all your rights to ever call me moody, I hope you know! You're being a stubborn ass and I even said the final decision is yours! I don't walk around having all these pent up attractions to tons of different people, you know I'm not like that. This isn't just anyone, this is _Makoto_, and I really just want you to meet him _properly_ in person before you decide."

His voice had gotten steadier and less loud the more he talked, though, his breaths still come in quicker successions. Sousuke remains silent and lets the words roll around in his head. Of course he's not convinced at all and still wants to say no right here and now, but since when has he ever been able to deny Rin anything? Even something as fucked up as this, he finds himself waning against Rin's wishes.

Sighing, Sousuke scratches the back of his neck. "You said tomorrow night, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay... let's settle this how we usually do." Rin notably perks up. "I win, it's a definite no. You win, maybe I consider it by at least getting a meal out of this."

"You're on!"

They hold up their hands for a game of janken – it's no surprise to either of them when Sousuke loses. Still, Rin lets out an excited whoop and the win somehow seems to give him a new energy as he sets his eyes on Sousuke. He's familiar with this look as Rin's eyes narrow and he gets up out of his chair to make his way closer, hips moving with just enough sway to draw Sousuke's attention to them. It's a fucking trap and he knows it, but he can't help himself.

"Like I said," Rin crawls into Sousuke's lap, a leg on each side of his thighs, "just because I might have one exception for him, that doesn't mean I want you less."

Rin puts both hands on Sousuke's cheeks and kisses him hard, it's difficult to tell whether it's apologetic or gratuitous or both. It's a kiss of the biting kind, where he draws Sousuke's bottom lip out before letting go and leaning back in for more. Sousuke helplessly wraps his arms around Rin's waist and runs a hand up his back under his shirt. Rin's skin is always so warm and soft and smooth, but underlined with the sexiest curved muscle definition. And the thing is, Sousuke doesn't think he's actively attracted to men, not necessarily, he's just very much attracted to Rin.

He's Rin-centric.

"Does that feel like I want you less?" Rin asks and ruts gently against Sousuke's stomach.

Sousuke says nothing, he only glares and roughly pulls him in for another kiss. Congratulations, Rin can get an erection after telling his fuck buddy that he wants another man, absolutely fantastic, well done. If anything, that just feeds the poison building in Sousuke's gut and he kisses Rin just a little too hard, which earns him a moan. He grabs onto Rin's hips and holds hard enough to leave bruises, his fingers urging Rin to buck forward against him.

Bitterness aside, Rin really does want him, he's not faking with that. He's hard through his shorts and he kisses Sousuke like he's hungry for it – there's no pretending with that. Ever since the day Rin found out about Sousuke's shoulder, that's when things really changed between them. They didn't sleep together that night, it was at least two weeks later before anything started, but that day is definitely what marks the shift in their friendship. It at least awakened the part of Rin that wants him and he finally noticed him the way Sousuke had always wanted

Too bad Sousuke's somewhat pissed and has no desire to let his little reverie turn him gentle like it can sometimes. He likes Rin, he wants him, and he in no way wants to share this with anyone. _Maybe_ he'd be okay with someone watching, but really not even then, he's too possessive for that.

"You don't have dryland tomorrow, right?"

Rin's eyes darken. "Right."

Sousuke nods and bodily lifts Rin up off his lap and puts him on the table. The chair had been an awkward position anyway and this is much better because he can push his way between Rin's legs and get to him how he wants. He pulls Rin's shorts down and he doesn't want to be messing around with any of that foreplay teasing stuff right now. He kisses at Rin's neck after he wets his fingers and slides them down, heedless of the teeth nibbling at his ear. He starts with two fingers, half as punishment and half because he knows Rin can take it – he likes it, too.

"Yori's gonna throw a fit."

"Don't say her name when my fingers are in your ass," Sousuke snaps and mouths at Rin's shoulder.

Hot breaths ghost over his ear and jaw as Rin's legs find comfortable purchase over Sousuke's hips. His legs are so long and trim, it's easy for him to just wrap them around Sousuke and press his heels down.

"Get the lube."

"No, I hate that smelly shit you bought."

A heel strikes Sousuke's lower back. "You'll get the lube if you wanna fuck this ass. I think there's some in my bag, hold on."

As Rin reaches behind him, Sousuke takes out his fingers and opens Rin's jacket. He has on a tank top underneath and Sousuke doesn't think too hard before just ripping the thing down the middle. It serves to piss Rin off, but Sousuke doesn't care since he knows Rin has way too many more and it presents him with a firm chest to worship with his lips. He also thinks Rin secretly likes it when Sousuke is reduced to ripping pieces of his clothing despite his objections and admonishments when Sousuke does it.

"Why do you have some in your bag?" Sousuke asks, then licks along Rin's collarbone.

"I bought more than one packet, dumbass." Rin's hand finds Sousuke's. "Here."

Sousuke doesn't mind using spit and he knows how to do it in a way that won't hurt Rin, but he supposes lube is probably the better choice since Rin has morning practice. They've... definitely learned their lesson when it comes to the effects of sex on their athletic performances.

Ripping the packet open with his teeth, he coats his fingers again and pushes them back down between Rin's legs. He once more goes for two fingers first and the shuddering breath Rin lets out is nothing short of sexy. Taking the packet from Sousuke's mouth – thank god, he doesn't want to be smelling vanilla the whole time – Rin gets some lube on his right hand, his fingers glistening. He kisses at Sousuke's neck and slips his hand into his sweatpants, fingers wrapping around his hardening length. He pulls Sousuke free and pumps him until he's turgid and throbbing, which doesn't take long, it never does with Rin.

"You gonna fingerfuck me off or are you actually gonna do something?"

Giving him a bite, Sousuke pulls his fingers out and lets Rin line him up. He presses his hips forward and he'll never get tired of the way Rin sighs as his cock enters him. Sousuke finds a good position and starts thrusting, his ignited possessiveness making him rough from the start. His lips find Rin's and he doesn't care that the kiss is messy or that Rin's likely getting lube on the back of his jacket with the way he's grabbing, it's too good for him to give a fuck.

"A-ahnn –" Rin cries out and throws his head back. "Fuck, fuck, fuck – Sousuke h-harder."

Sousuke takes a firmer hold on Rin's hips and lifts him up a bit to allow some better leverage. He snaps his hips harder and is gratified when Rin begins to lose control of himself and starts to cling to Sousuke. Noises drop more readily from his mouth and he becomes downright incoherent. Nails rake into Sousuke's shoulder and fingers scratch up into his hair as garbled versions of his name fall from Rin's mouth since kissing is too difficult to keep doing. Every part of Sousuke is telling him to claim Rin over and over, to remind him that he doesn't need anyone else, and that what they have is theirs and doesn't need to change.

Rin's strangled shout as he cums between them is enough to make Sousuke cock pulse harder and his stomach swoop. He'll never get used to the feeling of Rin cumming around him, muscles working and clenching, the sheer heat of him all-encompassing. Sousuke only lasts a few more thrusts before he's emptying himself inside Rin, marking him, and biting down on the nearest part of him. His muscles tighten up with his orgasm and he knows he might be holding onto Rin a little too tight, but it's something like desperation seizing him.

He doesn't share.

Breathing hard, Rin leans his head back to grin at him and that's the most relief Sousuke has had tonight. He doesn't smile back, he only sighs and kisses Rin firmly, then bumps their sweaty brows together.

Later that night, after they've both cleaned up and calmed down some more, Sousuke finds himself still with a half-eaten power bar in his hand. He's absolutely fucking starving, but he still can't get himself to eat this disgusting abomination. He's sprawled out on the couch and Rin is both cleaning and packing up his gear for his morning practice. Sousuke's on a different training regime, so he has the morning off from swimming, he has physical therapy instead. He's still mulling things over and while he does think this situation is massively fucked up, he does humor Rin by musing about it.

"So, you told me I could potentially be attracted to him, but assuming I agree to this, what would happen if he's not attracted to either of us in that way? Or what if he's only into you and not me?"

"If he's not into us, then he's not into us and that's the end of it." Rin studies two separate swim trunks, one in each hand. "And if he only wants me, then he doesn't get me because I would never do that to you. It's either he takes both of us or gets neither of us. We'll have to give him time to get settled in before we try anything with him, I was thinking maybe a week before testing the waters."

"If I say yes," Rin gives him a look that says, _you'll say yes_, and it's irritating, "and if he doesn't find a new place within the first week."

"Right."

Sousuke throws a pillow at him and takes consolation that at least Makoto has to take both of them or gets neither of them. However, that doesn't change the fact that the entire prospect is weird as fuck.

-o-O-o-

It's the next evening and Sousuke is the very image of the word _no_ if it could be embodied as a person. They've showered – Sousuke made sure they did it together – and they're on their way out to meet Makoto at a nearby cafe. They're both wearing their school swim uniforms with their sweatpants and jackets, Sousuke had wanted them to be matching, it's a possessive thing. Underneath Rin's jacket, he's wearing one of Sousuke's shirts, another possessive thing.

Before they get out the door, Sousuke pulls the hem of Rin's shirt down and attaches his lips to the space just below his right collarbone. He hums as fingers rake through his hair and he kisses the skin beneath his mouth softly before sucking and nipping alternatively until a deep hickey is left behind. He's pleased with his handiwork, but still gives an extra little bite before Rin has had enough and is pushing and shoving him away.

It's a short walk to this cafe and the entire way, all Sousuke wants to do is turn around and drag Rin back with him. He's not feeling sociable, he's not feeling openminded, and the only alluring thing about this is the prospect of some food that doesn't consist of shitty power bars.

Makoto is easy to spot since he's the only person sitting alone in the small corner cafe that Sousuke honest to god didn't know existed until now. He's wearing a sky blue shirt under a black collared hoodie with yellow along the shoulders. There's a cup of something next to him and he's writing something in a notebook he has out on the table, it looks like he has been here for awhile. He's so intent on what he's doing that he doesn't see them until they're sitting down across from him. He jumps at Rin's hello, but then smiles and returns the sentiment as he puts his belongings away in the bag he has next to him.

Seeing him now, Sousuke actually remembers him. Not much of him because he really hadn't been paying any attention to anything other than Rin during that time, but he does remember some little things.

"Hello again, Yamazaki-kun," Makoto greets with a smile and a slight tip of his head.

Right away, the smile is blindsiding and Sousuke can only bring himself to nod in acknowledgment. Who smiles like that at people and why would anyone be so pleased to see Sousuke? _No one_ is really happy to see Sousuke, he always comes off as too cold and standoffish for people to want anything to do with him.

"I'd been meaning to see you sooner," Makoto says regretfully to Rin, "especially since I knew you were so close by."

"Don't worry about it, I know you've been busy."

"You've been busy, too! I read about you in the that newspaper clipping!"

Rin flushes slightly. "That stupid thing? They were interviewing all the youngest members of the team."

"Yours was the biggest snippet!"

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Sure it does!" Makoto rests his head in his palm and smiles. "I enjoyed reading it, there was even a good picture of you on the starting block."

"He complained about that," Sousuke finds himself saying. "He thinks they should have gotten a better picture of his face so the competition knows who to watch out for."

"I'm sure the ones that matter already know."

Rin preens. "I think so, too."

Sousuke doesn't get it – he should be annoyed right now, should be fucking pissed that this nobody is someone Rin wants. Except, he's not annoyed and Makoto isn't annoying... _yet_. Makoto is smaller than him, most everyone is, but somehow, he seems to take up more space than anyone Sousuke has known, Rin aside. His slightly curved eyes and small smile, just his face in general, is something Sousuke should want to be smashing through a wall right now, but the desire is curiously lacking.

He recalls Rin telling him once that he was saved by Haru and _the guys_, Makoto is one of the guys. Why? What did he do? Why is he one of the special ones?

"And how have you been, Yamazaki-kun?"

Oh, no, no, no, he's not supposed to ask shit like that.

"Fine."

"He's better than fine," Rin amends, putting a hand on Sousuke's thigh beneath the table. "He's doing almost as well as me, but he refused to do the interview."

"That's good to hear you're doing well!" Makoto's eyes flick down to Sousuke's side and worry clouds his face. "How's your shoulder doing?"

"Fine."

Rin squeezes his thigh and says, "Doing great after the surgery he had. He was out for awhile, but since he stuck with his physical therapy and didn't overdo it too soon, he hasn't had any problems."

"That's great!" Makoto's smile is so pure it's beaming, like he actually gives a fuck about anything to do with Sousuke. "What kind of surgery?"

"Reconstructive."

Once more, Rin squeezes his thigh and gives him a look that says, _You can give more than one word answers, asshole._

"His shoulder was pretty wrecked after that last relay, but his parents were able to find a doctor to do a reconstructive surgery to stabilize him and fix him up. I don't really know what it entailed, he knows more about it than I do. All I remember is him being out of it and saying weird things when he was coming out of the anesthetic."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to hear more about that sometime," Makoto says to Sousuke and is so earnestly curious it's a little overbearing. "What is it you're studying?"

"I couldn't decide, so I went with general education."

"Makoto's in for something about medicine," Rin supplies.

Makoto modestly ducks his head. "Sports medicine."

"How's that going?"

"Good! I really like it! It's a lot harder than I expected, but I enjoy it."

"That's good." Rin's fingers gently squeeze Sousuke's thigh, reassuringly this time. Or, at least, Sousuke thought it was meant to be reassuring until Rin asks, "Have you found a new apartment yet?"

"I thought I did! But then I went and saw the place and there were cockroaches inside." Makoto's face turns a peculiar shade of blue. "They were the size of my face."

"They were not!"

"They were! And they could fly!" His distress is so real his hands are wringing on the table. "There was a nest of them in the kitchen, I thought I was going to be sick!"

"You're such a pansy," Rin chastises and Sousuke actually snorts at that.

"You're one to call someone a pansy." Why is he speaking? He shouldn't be joining in on the conversation, what's he thinking? "I'm the one that has to take care of any spiders or bugs we have because you're too chicken shit."

Rin smacks him, but then there's a sweet chiming of laughter and Sousuke looks over at Makoto, who's laughing with a hand over his mouth. There's mirth in his eyes and somehow that makes the green seem that much brighter, the kind of green seen in springtime when the foliage comes back to life.

"That reminds me of the time Rin walked into a spider web and ran around the yard screaming until Nagisa finally caught him to help him get it off."

"Yeah, well, at least I can hook my own fishing line," Rin retorts, his cheeks heated. "That's more than you can do."

Makoto shudders. "It isn't right to pierce a live animal with a hook no matter how slimy and gross it is!"

Sousuke should be bitter.

This guy knows things about Rin that Sousuke doesn't, he has stories and memories that Sousuke was denied since Rin changed schools. He should be angry at Makoto for being part of the reason Rin decided to leave, but once more, Sousuke finds himself lacking such feelings. Instead, he wants to hear more. Rin won't tell him things like this and he wants to hear about the time he missed, that chunk of space where others had taken his place.

Honestly, someone – _anyone – _who looks at Rin the way Makoto is now, with so much fondness, should be destroyed or otherwise incapacitated, but Sousuke can't find it in himself to hate it. It's hard to hate it, damn near fucking impossible, because Makoto isn't vying for Rin's affections, he just genuinely cares for Rin and it shows. He smiles and laughs at something Rin says and the sound is so warm it saturates right through the cold, barbed wall Sousuke had armed himself with prior to arriving.

This whole thing feels alarmingly natural.

It freaks him the fuck out.

"Sousuke?" That's Rin's voice, so he looks over. He doesn't realize until then that he's gripping Rin's hand. "You okay?"

"Uh..." he glances at Makoto, "excuse us a moment."

Sousuke moves his hand to Rin's wrist and yanks him off to the side with a little more abruptness than he strictly intended. But then again, this _thing_ with Makoto is exactly that – abrupt, sudden, out of fucking nowhere, and insane. He pulls Rin just far enough away where they won't be heard, in this little part of the cafe that's leading to the bathrooms.

"What the _fuck _is _that_," Sousuke demands, gesturing wildly in Makoto's direction.

Rin's shoulders pinch up and he looks about as perplexed and bewildered as Sousuke feels. "I don't _know_! That's what I was trying to tell you!"

"He's just so... so... _what?_" Sousuke holds both hands up in the universal _what the fuck_ gesture and Rin does the same thing back to him, a litany of question marks spiraling between them. "I don't get what's happening!"

"I tried to explain this to you!"

"What the fuck is he?"

"He's a fucking Tachibana! God, get your shit together, I _told you_ he's different!"

"How was I supposed to know what different meant?"

"You were supposed to trust me!"

"I do trust you, but of course I was going to be skeptical about something like this!"

"Excuse me?" They both look over at a young employee. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Rin tugs on Sousuke's sleeve, "we were just heading back to our table."

"I'm not ready to go back to the table yet," Sousuke hisses.

Rin pauses and the same almost distressed look from the night becomes creeps back onto his face. "It's weird, isn't it? He's really... different."

"Call him different one more time, I dare you."

"Are... holy shit, are you actually flustered right now?"

"No!"

"You are!" Rin looks positively delighted and they quiet as a different waitress walks by them. "He _flusters_ you, I didn't see that coming. God, you know, that's actually kinda cute."

Sousuke wants to punch him square in his smirking mouth.

"He does not fluster me, I am not cute, this is not what flustered looks like."

"You're so lame," Rin's eyes are perilously affectionate, "this is exactly what flustered looks like. Come on, we can't keep him waiting."

This whole thing just got that much more bizarre.

"Everything alright?" Makoto asks with concern as they return to the table.

"Everything's fine," Rin replies reassuringly, "Sousuke just had a moment, nothing to worry about."

"Oh." Makoto's shoulders sag in relief and occurs to Sousuke that he might have thought he'd done something wrong. "Ren and Ran say hi, by the way. I talked to them earlier today and told them I was meeting you."

The only thing Sousuke wants to do in that moment is break Makoto and he's aware that that's an extremely weird thing to want to do to someone he's basically meeting for the first time. No, it's not the first time they've actually met, but it's the first time Sousuke's paying attention. He sees now how Makoto's Adam's apple bobs slightly each time he swallows, how his eyes crinkle a little when he smiles, and how he steadily relaxes the more he talks to Rin. Sousuke sees the outline of muscles along broad shoulders leading up to a thick, yet slender neck that Sousuke thinks his fingers would fit nicely around.

This is so absurd.

Rin's skin bruises fairly easily, but would Makoto's? It's a stupid thing to wonder considering Sousuke doesn't have any intention of sharing Rin and not only that, there's so many huge what-ifs about the situation – pending that Sousuke agrees to it, which he's unlikely to. Like, what if Makoto isn't gay? If he is, what if he's only attracted to Rin? Everyone's attracted to Rin in some way, but the same can definitely not be said for Sousuke since one good scowl typically sends people scurrying in the opposite direction. He doesn't even usually make a point to scowl at anyone, it's just his normal expression – that, or generally looking bored out of his mind about everything – and so he has heard many times about how unapproachable he is, not that he cares.

"How's Haru doing?"

Sousuke tunes back in at the familiar name that he loathes still.

A big, bright smile captivates Makoto's face. "Really well! He's excelling under the training regime his new coach has him under, but it's very strict, so he doesn't have much time between that and school."

"Good," Rin flashes his teeth, "I want him in top condition when we face off."

"I'm sure he will be!"

"What's he going for again? Marine biology?"

"Ah, that's that he started out in, but then he found out about all the things he'd have to go through before he could work in the field, so he switched to culinary arts."

"Oh, well, he's certainly a pro at cooking mackerel."

"I think that's why he went in that direction, it's just another excuse to cook more of his favorite dish."

"It's amazing that after all these years he's still not tired of it."

"Scary will be the day Haru ever tires of mackerel."

Sousuke doesn't supply much to their conversation, his mind is in a completely different place. He's listening to them talk and knows what they're saying, but he's so caught up in nuances that, if prompted, he'd struggle to come up with anything to say.

Because Makoto is baffling and full to the brim of paradoxes and juxtapositions. He's cute, but then there's a way he leers when Rin says something sketchy that suddenly makes him hot. Sousuke doesn't even know what it is that makes him explicitly attractive, it could be the tousled hair, his bright green eyes, the shape of his face, the size of his body, the lilt of his voice, the actual _tone_ of that voice, it's hard to say. There's so many components to Makoto and the thing is, had Rin not mentioned anything, Sousuke wouldn't have given Makoto a second look. Because he doesn't need to, he has Rin, and thus, by default, Sousuke has no reason to go looking for another.

He's looking now, though. He's looking right at Makoto and Sousuke doesn't think he has blinked throughout their entire conversation. His eyes are starting to water, so he forces himself to, and once he does, Makoto does this _thing_. It's not meant to be sexy, it's so casual and thoughtless. Beside him, Rin twitches when Makoto does it, but Makoto doesn't notice and just keeps talking like everything is okay.

Like it's _okay_ to brush back his hair and push his bangs from his face like that – one handed, fingers dragging seamlessly through his hair, head poised just to the side to allow the movement.

The hairs fall right back into place, of course, so the action had been totally unnecessary, but definitely not unappreciated. Sousuke wants him to do it again and thank god Rin can keep the conversation going because Sousuke has absolutely nothing to offer right now. He even, stupidly, looks over at Rin for help, but that's probably the last thing he should have done.

_You're drowning_, Rin's smirk implies without words. His eyes even smolder a bit, the way they do when he knows he's going to get his way and really, when does he not?

Still, Sousuke glares and remains resolute – he does absolutely not share.

He looks back at Makoto and is wholly unprepared for what happens next.

_I'd fuck your mouth first_, Sousuke thinks, startlingly unbidden, and appraises Makoto subtly through his dark lashes. _I'd mark up your skin with bruises and bites, force myself down your throat until you can't breathe – bet you're not used to being around someone bigger than you..._

Makoto looks up at him then and Sousuke freezes, schooling his face to make sure he's giving nothing of his thoughts away. He's sure he isn't just on default because he's usually very cryptic by nature, it's something even Rin complains about sometimes. Makoto's face goes a little red in his cheeks and Sousuke internally panics, unsettled for a moment thinking that he might have actually said something he shouldn't have out loud. Just to be sure, he glaces at Rin who blinks back at him with a raised brow. Rin doesn't look like Sousuke said anything of the extremely explicit thoughts running through his head, so...

_If you're a mind reader, _Sousuke thinks and feels so foolish and childish and lame for it,_ cough right now_.

Makoto opens his mouth to say something, but on the first word, he stutters and ends up coughing into his hand. Mortified, Sousuke slaps a hand over his face and just wants to be buried in the seat they're sitting on. This is hands down the weirdest fucking situation Sousuke has ever been in and while Makoto takes a drink from his cup – Sousuke can hear the clink of ceramic on ceramic, that's how he knows what's happening – Rin makes a sound of confusion that Sousuke commiserates with down to his goddamn _bones._

"You alright over there?" Rin asks and Sousuke musters himself to at least remove his hand from his face.

If asked, there's no way he'd be able to describe the anomaly that just took place.

"Fine," Makoto says with a smile and a dismissive wave of his hand, his cheeks are still a little red. "What were we talking about?"

"Ah... right, how much longer do you have until you need a place to stay?"

Actual stress lines appear in Makoto's forehead as his brows scrunch. "A couple days, I didn't really get much warning."

"Your roommate sounds like ass."

"No, no, he's really nice! Our schedules just don't match up very well, so we don't spend too much time together."

"Still, to give you such short notice is kind of a dick move."

"It happens! I'm sure I'll find a place soon, a friend in one of my classes told me about a place she thinks might be available within the next week."

"Do you remember what I said about our apartment?" Rin asks, motioning between himself and Sousuke.

Makoto shifts awkwardly in his seat and suddenly looks stiff. "Yes, but I can't take you up on that! It's too big of an offer for me!"

"Don't be ridiculous, I told you we have the space and at least this way you know you'll have someplace safe to stay while you look for a new apartment. Plus, you can actually take your time with it and find a place you like instead of having all the pressure to rush."

Makoto's hunched forward a little bit, the posture almost sullen. "It would be putting you out at all?"

"Of course not, I wouldn't offer if it was. You're overthinking this way too much, you big idiot."

Swallowing, Makoto then looks to Sousuke and tentatively asks, "Would that really be okay with you, Yamazaki-kun?"

As if he even stood a fraction of a chance against this guy.

"Yeah."

The smile he gets in return is utterly unfair.

**To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Any words in **bold** are ones being spoken in English.

**Kickback**

"I hate you."

"You don't."

"I do."

"Do not." Rin hasn't stopped smirking since they left the cafe. "Hand me that box, it can take a few more things."

Sousuke hands it to him and Rin almost wants to roll his eyes at how hard the guy is pouting. He looks like an absolute grump with his shoulders slouched and his eyes doing that glaring droopy thing. He has been that way since they left Makoto and quite on the opposite side of the spectrum, Rin feels like he's on some kind of high. They'd been silent on their way back, what with Sousuke brooding so much, and now they're in Rin's room cleaning out his stuff. There's a few boxes they dredged up to carry things over, but mostly it's just a lot of back and forth to dump things on Sousuke's bed.

It's a given that Sousuke is moving a lot slower than Rin.

There's quite a bit that needs addressed between them, but Rin doesn't want to think about it yet. He refuses to, actually. It's just too bad that Sousuke's patience is entirely lacking and before too long he's stealing more and more glances Rin's way.

"This is fucking ridiculous, you know that, right?"

"Yeah."

"I kinda don't think you do."

"I do, don't worry. Here, take this to your room."

"_Our _room."

Rin flushes despite himself. "Yeah, yeah, possessive bastard, just take it."

Sousuke takes the offered pile of shorts and shirts and Rin doesn't miss it when Sousuke looks back at him before leaving. Things are a tad awkward right now, but, all things considered, that's to be expected. Everything had gone better than Rin could have wanted and it's all thanks to Makoto's natural charms working their magic on Sousuke.

They work in silence for a solid half hour, but Rin becomes more and more aware of just how stretched the quiet between them is. Sousuke's frowning more, moving slower, taking hesitant steps, and of course Rin picks up on all these little nuances. He's sensitive to Sousuke's mood shifts, so much more so than he has been in the past – he definitely learned his lesson with that. Having Sousuke tell him everything he'd had to go through during the time Rin had left, he still feels awful about it. He'd been selfish and in a lot of ways still is, but he's working on it and having sex with the guy certainly helps with that.

Rin cleans out his desk last because there's so many loose pieces in all of the drawers. It isn't until he gets around to doing it that he realizes just how many random things he has. There's pens, paperclips, origami shapes, staples even though he has no stapler, crumpled up pieces of paper, power bar wrappers, a pile of sports magazines, a chewed piece of gum that's stuck to the side of one of the drawers, and three half-eaten cookies.

He's disgusted with himself.

Really, it just goes to show how little he actually uses his desk and if it's clean on top, then he doesn't think about what's inside. He throws half the stuff away and vows never to let things get so out of hand ever again. He even cleans the desk thoroughly twice before deeming it good enough, he's that repulsed by it. Rin doesn't typically even eat cookies, so he can't say where those three random ones had even spawned from, but they were all hard, crumbly, and gross. Though, since he's not big on sweets, it explains why they were half-eaten as opposed to being reduced to mere wrappers.

Sneering at the desk, personally offended by how bad it had gotten, he wipes down the top once more, then moves onto his closet. There isn't much left, most of the clothes have been taken out, and it's _a lot _cleaner than his desk had been. He uses it more, sure, but that's no excuse.

"I'm making a pile to donate," Rin calls, "go through your own shit and see if you have anything you don't want anymore!" He takes some of his older shirts out into the hall and dumps them on the floor. "Put yours in a separate pile next to mine, okay?"

Sousuke pokes his head out of his own room with a raised brow. "Why?"

"I need to go through them, duh. Don't want you getting rid of anything I like to wear."

Grumbling, Sousuke disappears again and Rin grins to himself before returning to what's left. He checks all the drawers built into the wall, then changes the sheets on the bed so that they're clean for Makoto. He's meticulous about making the bed and is sure to fold all the corners down and smooth out the fabric so there aren't any wrinkles. He fluffs the pillows up and adds the blanket, even folds a second one at the base in case Makoto gets cold. He's trying to cover all his bases to make this place as comfortable and appealing as possible. He's tempted to leave a pair of his boxers hidden in the room somewhere, but rethinks that and files the idea away for another time – he doesn't want Makoto to think he's that much of a slob.

After one last thorough check, Rin goes out into the hall and sighs when he sees Sousuke's pile. It's annoying to see so many shirts he likes right there on top of the mound, so he picks them up and takes them back into Sousuke's room.

"Asshole, you can't get rid of these."

Sousuke is sprawled out on the bed and doesn't look up from his magazine. "Fine."

"Alright then! All my stuff is here! But you're going to have to move some of your shit over to make room." Sousuke frowns, but still doesn't glance up. "Something wrong?"

"Now that you're actually in here, I'm a little apprehensive."

"Oh?"

"You kick _and_ steal the covers."

"So what? You kick back and somehow manage to push my pillow out from beneath my head."

"Bullshit! You roll onto my pillow at least once a night and then knock your own damn pillow off!"

Rin huffs and turns away to hide how grateful he is for the reprieve or normalcy. "You're right, I don't know if this is going to work."

"Too late! This is what you get for not thinking things through."

That's a bit of a jibe, but Rin lets it slide and takes in where all his belongings are strewn across the room. There's a lot more than he thought, it had looked like less when it was in his own room. Now that it's all over Sousuke's room in stacks and piles and clumps, it looks like there's mini ant hills all over the place.

"Where should I put my stuff?"

Sousuke shoots him a look. "We've literally shared a room before, why are you suddenly so conscientious? Move my shit wherever you want, I don't have a cleaning fetish like you do."

"It's not a fetish," Rin snaps and shoves some of Sousuke's books aside on the desktop.

"Compulsion, then. You'll be up all night arranging things and then complain throughout morning practice about being tired."

Rin flips him off and starts in on reorganizing things in a way that incorporates all their belongings. Sousuke remains on the bed reading and Rin would get after him about helping, but honestly, Sousuke is useless. He'd just move things around so it's all in a different place, but equally as messy and disorganized. Rin has learned that lesson enough times and so forgoes asking for any help, instead deciding to just do things his own way. Sousuke gets in the way when he helps, too, and moves too slow, Rin usually works circles around him, so it's best he stays out of Rin's zone.

He starts with the shorts and beings folding them, only tossing some aside when he questions their cleanliness. Sousuke is what Rin calls a mediocre slob, he's not _entirely_ uncouth, but messy enough to make Rin grimace at things as he goes. He flaps out some shirts before folding them and integrates their swim stuff without getting them all tangled together. The desk is going to be last because considering the state of his own, he shudders to think of what Sousuke's might be like within the drawers.

Makoto is a clean person, if memory serves. At least, Rin doesn't recall him ever being the type to throw his shit on the floor and leave it there until it starts to mold. Makoto who's going to be living here for awhile all because Rin pushed and pressured Sousuke into a difficult situation. It's not like Rin can accurately explain the weird crush he has on Makoto, it's not something Sousuke can understand right now.

Regardless, tomorrow night Makoto is going to be sleeping in the bed Rin used to occupy.

He isn't paying attention and accidentally stubs his toe on the bedpost, resulting in a mass of cusses, half of which are in English. He sees Sousuke glance up over top of the magazine, but Rin ignores him and grumbles as he hangs some nicer clothes up in the closet only to take them out again to put them in a different spot.

Truth be told, Rin has had feelings for Makoto since they met. Obviously he didn't recognize them when he was a kid, but now that he's older he can admit that not all of his feelings for Makoto are entirely platonic. He knows it's a little fucked up, but he has always liked Makoto in close proximity, it's just hard to identify the line between liking Makoto and _liking_ Makoto. He doesn't actually know what he wants or hopes to accomplish by having Makoto staying here and that stops him up short while he's opening a drawer.

"Rin?"

"What?"

"I think you need to sit."

"I don't want to sit."

"Just sit."

"No."

"You're freaking out."

"Am not."

"This will go so much better if you admit you're freaking out and come sit with me."

"I'm not freaking out!" Rin shouts and stubbornly continues on by grabbing a shirt, flapping it out, then folding it up.

Sousuke sighs and leans his head back against the headboard. "Four."

"What?"

"That's how many times you've folded that exact same shirt."

Rin looks down at it and frowns. "No, it's not."

"Yeah, it is, I've been watching. You put it down in the same spot, leave it to go do something you don't finish, then come back and fold it again." He pats the bed next to him. "Sit."

He wants to protest, but the fight goes right out of him when he thinks about when Makoto will arrive. His shoulders sag and he sulks over to the bed where he skips sitting next to Sousuke and instead straddles him to slump into his body. His forehead hits Sousuke's shoulder and he lets out a loud sigh, his arms limp at his sides.

"I'm a horrible person."

"Why? Because you invited one of your childhood friends to stay with us in the hopes that he'll let us fuck him?"

Rin hides his face in Sousuke's neck and groans. "It sounds so awful when you say it like that! Who _does_ that? Really, tell me, who thinks that way?"

"You, apparently."

Rin lifts his head and glares. "You're terrible at this, you know that?"

Sousuke snorts and wraps his arms around Rin's waist. "You're not a horrible person."

"How do you figure? Keep in mind that I've been thinking Makoto as some object to be defiled rather than, you know, _an actual person._"

Sousuke idly tucks some hair behind Rin's ear. "Hate to break this to you, but you're an impulsive wreck."

"I'm an idiot."

"It's so great you came to this realization _after_ you got him to stay here."

Rin nips at Sousuke's retreating hand. "Shut up, asshole. It might not even be for that long."

"And if it is?"

"Would that be so bad?"

Sousuke shrugs. "I don't know, I really just met the guy."

"Yeah, you haven't really said what you think. Totally noticed you were into him for a second there. Tell me."

"Well, I... shit, I'm really no better than you, I guess."

"How so?"

"I thought about fucking his face at one point and that's the first time that has ever happened with anyone but you."

Rin sits back with wides eyes. "Wait, seriously?"

Sousuke scowls and looks away, his fingers drumming against Rin's hips. "Yeah."

Groaning, Rin shoves his face back against Sousuke's shoulder. "I'm the lowest. I basically pushed you into that... are you mad?"

"I should be, but I've learned to just let you figure things out on your own when you get all reckless like that." Sousuke sighs and Rin _knows_ he's upset. "After how it went earlier I can't say I'm not curious, but, shit, Rin, I don't share."

"I know." It feels like his throat tightens as he adds, "Sorry." He really could have fucked things up with Sousuke and probably would have if they didn't know each other so well. "I've missed him. More than just wanting him in our bed or whatever, I've missed having him around." Rin smiles to himself and knows he's being far too sentimental about it. "So, even if he finds a new apartment soon and even if he's not gay or bi or interested in us, it'll be nice to just be with him again."

Sousuke's fingers tighten. "How do you expect me to feel hearing that? I'm starting to get kinda pissed."

Rin raises his head and pinches Sousuke's nose. "Don't, it's not worth it."

"This is weird," Sousuke replies, knocking Rin's hand away irritably. "Really fucking weird."

"It's a dick move to put you in such a shitty spot."

"Yeah, it is."

"But in my defense, he _is_ different, isn't he?"

Sousuke sighs – he's doing a lot of that – and digresses, "The thing he did with his hair was unexpected."

"Is that what made you want to fuck his mouth?"

"I don't know." His brows furrow. "I don't even know where that thought came from. He's attractive, I guess, but I don't feel a goddamn thing for him. If you did manage to get him into our bed, I just –" he makes a frustrated sound, "I don't _know!_ I get you want to experiment or whatever the fuck, but I'm really not okay with sharing."

"Yeah, yeah, calm your shit and loosen your grip!" Rin takes hold of Sousuke's wrists and squeezes until he isn't pressing so hard. "I _like_ having circulation in my legs, thank you."

Sousuke leaves things to lapse into silence and Rin leans back against Sousuke's bent legs. He's pleased when they bend more so keep him raised up, but Sousuke still looks too annoyed and grouchy. Rin doesn't want to fight about this or turn it into some big thing that's going to hurt them or what they have, that's the last thing he wants. He also very much doesn't want to do any damage to his friendship with Makoto, who, in all likelihood, will want nothing to do with him or Sousuke in any kind of sexual context.

"Let's just..." Rin bites his lips for a second, "can we forget this? Chalk it up to me being a... well, a –"

"Bastard."

"Sure," Rin agrees flatly, "a bastard."

"And I'm supposed to be comfortable having a guy you want living in my space?"

"I feel like we're just going in circles with this. Forget it, okay? Yeah, I've got weird more than friend feelings for Makoto, but you're not in danger of me doing anything without telling you or me running off with him and leaving you." Rin pats Sousuke's chest. "It's going to be fine. I want Makoto as a friend more than I want to fuck anything up with you or him just for some sex, got it?"

His face is hot, but he deems it worth it when Sousuke purses his lips in a way that says he's somewhat placated. It's enough for Rin to let out a pent up breath and he keeps leaning casually against Sousuke's legs, content to just do that and let Sousuke rest his hands on his thighs.

"Can I ask you something?"

Rin leers. "Nothing good ever really comes out of your mouth when you say that before you ask."

"You're not allowed to laugh."

"...okay? What's up?"

Sousuke looks away and there's the slightest blush just beneath his eyes, right on the ridge of his cheekbones. If someone else saw him right now they'd think he's pissed, but Rin knows better and that's why he has a hand on Sousuke's bicep, his thumb lightly moving back and forth.

"Promise."

"God, alright! I promise not to laugh! Quit being an idiot and ask me already!"

"Tachibana..."

"Tachibana..." Rin prompts in a slow drawl.

"He... can't read minds," Sousuke grimaces and flicks his gaze to Rin quickly, "can he?" Rin has to slap a hand over his mouth and Sousuke's face gets a little more red. "You promised not to laugh!"

There's no helping it, Rin bursts out laughing and wraps his arms around Sousuke to keep him from moving. He laughs into Sousuke's shoulder and keeps his face buried there to muffle the sound. Sousuke's stiff against him and pinching at Rin's sides, which only makes him laugh harder.

"You're a jerk! Forget it! Forget I said anything!"

"No way!" Rin has to wipe his eyes with the back of a hand as he settles down to low chuckles. "That's priceless! No, to my knowledge, Makoto can't read minds."

"Never bring this up again."

"I'm going to."

"I'll deny it."

Rin leans forward and plants a kiss square on his stubborn mouth. "I'd like to see you try."

"Don't you have cleaning and shit to do?"

"Yup!" Rin scrambles up and feels a little better despite the static still between them. "Tomorrow let's stop for some coffee in the morning."

"Fine."

-o-O-o-

"He'll be here soon."

Rin keeps packing his bag. "Yeah."

It had been a rough day that had gone by much too slowly, but also too quickly. Rin has been really up and down with it and he knows things aren't totally patched up with Sousuke. They haven't seen each other all day and now that they're both in the apartment, things are... frigid. Sousuke doesn't stay in the room with very long and barely says anything about the power bar he's eating that he _always_ complains about. Things had been fine the last time they'd seen each other in the morning for coffee, but now nerves have worked their way in and things aren't so fine anymore.

Finishing with his bag, he takes a deep breath and resists the urge to kick it. He's a little more frustrated with himself than he was yesterday and Sousuke openly brooding doesn't help that at all. It just slathers on the guilt and even now Sousuke is leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. Normally Rin would find that sexy, which it still is, obviously, but the clear scowl on Sousuke's face labels him as currently unapproachable. Rin knows when to pick his fights and jabbing at one just before Makoto arrives isn't the time to do that.

There's a knock on the door and Rin jumps in place before clearing his throat and going to answer. He shouldn't be this nervous, it's _Makoto_, there's no reason to be out of sorts of this. It's a situation he got himself into, anyway, and he really has missed Makoto an awful lot. He's reluctant to tell Sousuke just how much he misses Makoto and even Haru. He of course misses Nagisa and, at times, Rei, but there's really something more profound between himself, Makoto, and Haru.

The three of them actually have a weird relationship with somewhat odd dynamics. To this day, Rin is still jealous of all the times Makoto offered a hand to pull Haru out of the water and didn't do that for anyone else. Rin has been waiting his turn and had expected it to happen sometime throughout the years they were together, but the day never came. It's like that sole thing is for Haru exclusively and there's a pinch inside Rin's chest as he thinks about it because he still doesn't think it's fair. That's such a stupid thing to still be hung up on after however many years, but he can't help himself.

Honestly, he has always been a bit possessive of Makoto and Haru, but with Haru it comes out more since they compete against each other and have some codependency with that. With Makoto... it comes out in a different way and Rin is aware that that hasn't changed despite the distance between them.

He opens the door, Makoto smiles upon seeing him, and all prior thoughts leave Rin's head.

"Long time no see," Rin greets after a heartbeat pause and steps aside for Makoto to come in.

"Sorry I'm a little late, I had to stop by the office to turn in my key and stuff."

"No worries." He eyes the duffel bag slung over Makoto's shoulder, the box in his arms, and the side bag on his other shoulder. "That can't be all your stuff."

"It's not! There's a few more things I need to go get, where should I put these?"

"I'll take them for now... how did you get here?"

"A friend brought me since she has a car, she's waiting out front." He hands Rin the box and sets the two bags down. "I'll be right back!"

He hurries out the door and Rin snorts as he takes the box to his – ah, wait, Makoto's room. Sousuke hasn't moved and Makoto probably hadn't even noticed him since he hasn't even made a sound.

"Grab the two bags, would you?"

Sousuke doesn't reply, but follows Rin into the room a moment later to set the bags on the bed. He's stiff and basically what Rin would call a brewing storm, but he knows – really, really hopes – Sousuke will behave for now.

"At least say hi to him," Rin says and grabs the front of Sousuke's shirt to pull him down for a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Again, Sousuke remains silent and Rin once more lets it go as he goes back out to the short hall leading to the door. When Makoto knocks again, Rin is there waiting and is able to open the door right away. This time, Makoto has a bigger box in his arms and a black duffel bag over his right shoulder.

"This is all of it," he says and carefully kicks off his shoes alongside Rin and Sousuke's.

"Good! Right this way and I'll give you an official tour! First stop is the most important place, the kitchen."

It's not a big apartment, but big enough to allow a table in the small basic kitchen. That's where Sousuke is and Rin has to give him props for not looking as glowering as before – it shows he's at least making an effort to be civil.

"Hello again, Yamazaki-kun!"

Sousuke slowly stands from his chair and lifts a hand halfway. "Yo."

Rin grabs Makoto's arm and pulls him along. "Obviously this is the living room."

In here, there's a couch, a small table, and a decent sized TV on top of a large base that has drawers for DVDs and whatever else.

"That's a huge couch!"

"We like to spread out." He takes Makoto to the hall just to the left. "This here is the bathroom," he points to the closed door on the left, "this is a bedroom," he taps a door on the right with his knuckle, "and you'll be in this room."

Rin opens the last door at the end and motions for Makoto to go in first.

"Woah! It's so big! There's even a desk!" Rin puffs his chest out with pride until Makoto turns back to him with furrowed brows after setting the box down. "But where do you sleep? Aren't there only two bedrooms? Or is there another one on the other side?"

Well, damn, he hadn't thought Makoto would pick up on that so fast.

"I... I'll be in with Sousuke."

Makoto's head tips to the side in confusion. "Sharing a room?"

"Yeah. I mean, we did it back at Samezuka."

Sousuke audibly shifts his weight behind them and clears his throat. "Might as well mention that we're together."

"Well..." Rin glares over his shoulder at Sousuke, "yeah, there's that."

This isn't at all how he'd wanted Makoto to find out and he wishes he would have talked to Sousuke about it beforehand. Goddamn possessive bastard just _has _to be pushy and assertive, doesn't he? It actually makes a nervous knot twist in his gut because he has no idea how Makoto is going to take the news.

"Oh."

Rin looks back at Makoto, whose face is now a little red, and Rin digs his nails into his thighs. "That gonna be a problem?"

"No!" Makoto pretty much yells, though, it's more of a yelp. "No! I just, ah!" He bows. "Congratulations!"

"Don't do that!" Now Rin's face is red as he pushes at Makoto's shoulders to get him to stand up straight again. "It's not like that! Well, it's like that, but like... **shit**! We're not _dating_ or anything, we're just together!" He immediately flinches at his own explanation. "If... that makes sense."

"It doesn't," Sousuke intones and he sounds crabby.

"Shut up! I'm talking to Makoto, not you!"

"I'm right here and definitely part of this conversation."

"No, you're standing in the dark hall like a creep and you're probably making him nervous!" Rin flips Sousuke off without looking at him and takes a deep breath before asking Makoto, "Does me sharing a room with Sousuke bother you?"

"Of course not!" Makoto replies, waving both hands frantically and there's red still in his cheeks. "It's just – you said this wouldn't be putting you out at all!"

"It's not."

"It put you out of your own room!"

"Sousuke and I don't mind sharing." Rin blindly kicks backward at Sousuke's shin and he smirks when he makes a direct hit. "Right?"

A grunt, then, "...right."

"Are you really sure? You had to move all your stuff out of here!"

"Relax already," Rin soothes with his best grin. "Let's get you unpacked."

Slightly flustered, Makoto pulls the smaller box forward along with one of the duffel bags. "I only really need this box and just a few things from the bag. I don't think I'll have to be here long, so I tried to pack accordingly."

"That's good," Rin replies, but he doesn't feel the sentiment behind the words. "What's your schedule like?"

"Pretty flexible, actually." He pulls out some shirts, several of which Rin recognizes. "I have classes everyday, but can usually be back at a decent hour between five and six. Sometimes I stay over for study groups, but I could always... text you when I do that?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Rin reaches into his pocket. "Before I forget, here's your key."

"What about you two?" Makoto asks as he takes the proffered key. "I don't want to get in your way at all."

"You won't, you definitely don't have to worry about that. When we're not at practice, we're here and we only ever do three things. We eat –"

"If there's any food."

"– study –"

"If we can focus."

"– and sleep."

"Sometimes," Sousuke murmurs to himself, but that still earns him an annoyed look from Rin.

"We watch movies sometimes, too," Rin goes on and his face skews up. "God, we're boring."

"We're not boring."

"We're extremely boring!"

Makoto laughs and shakes his head. "If that makes you boring, then I'm just as boring."

"That's... not really compliment."

"I'm going to go... do something," Sousuke murmurs and Rin has to repress a sigh.

He gives Makoto a smile though and takes a couple of his shirts to hang them up. He knows he doesn't have to ask what Makoto wants where and so just kind of starts organizing things on his own. As if on reflex, Makoto follows suit and puts things where Rin puts them.

"Does Haru know?" Makoto asks tentatively after a short while of companionable silence.

"Does he know what?"

"About you and Yamazaki-kun."

He can't say that without his face going red, Rin notices.

"Ah... not exactly, no. I think he suspects? Like I said, Sousuke and I are just... together... as in, not dating."

Sousuke lets out a loud huff and it makes both Rin and Makoto jump. He's standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and Makoto shrinks away from the look on his face because Sousuke's pinning Rin with a deep scowl.

"We do everything couples do except say we're in a relationship."

"Don't you dare say I have –"

"Commitment issues," Sousuke cuts in just to spite him. "Your commitment issues are so bad that you're in denial about your commitment issues."

"Not this again," Rin groans and rubs a hand over his face. "Can we _not_ do this on Makoto's first day here?"

"Whatever," Sousuke says flatly and walks away with a certain middle finger flashing in Rin's direction.

"Sorry about that," Rin mutters and gives Makoto a tired smile. "He's a bit of a pain in the ass," _literally_, "but he's a really great guy."

"He must be if you're with him," Makoto replies gently and red blotches cover his cheeks, it's amusing that he can't discuss this without getting even a little embarrassed. He goes back to unpacking his stuff and says, "Though, you don't need to apologize. Haru and I do a lot of couple type things, but we're not together."

"You're also not sleeping with him."

That gets Makoto's face to redden a few more degrees. "N-no, we're not... but I can see where you're coming from in a way."

Makoto opens his mouth like he's about to say something else, but then visibly flounders and starts unpacking quicker as a result.

"Whatever you were gonna say, you might as well get it off your chest now."

Squeaking, Makoto accidentally drops his shirt on the floor and bends at the knees to pick it up.

"It's none of my business!" The shirt slips from his fingers again, but he's faster picking it up this time. "I don't want to pry, either."

"Ask anyway." When Makoto sneaks a looks at him, Rin gives an encouraging nod. "You're one of my best friends, idiot, you're allowed to ask stuff."

A genuine smile comes to Makoto's face and he manages to fold his shirt, a feat that Rin deems worthy of a small applause. It makes Makoto laugh and visibly relax and right then, it really sinks in just how much Rin has missed this guy. He has such a nice laugh and his presence alone is comforting, in a way, it's like there's a piece of home in the room.

"Go on," Rin urges with a flick of his hand, "ask."

"Right," Makoto wrings his fingers a little and his brows furrow, "why... didn't you tell us? Is it a new thing between you two, is that why?"

"It's not new..." Rin hedges and he realizes he's standing up straighter.

"How long?"

"Ah-yurr," Rin says behind closed lips.

Makoto crosses his arms looking unimpressed. "You know I didn't hear that."

Rin ducks his head and runs a hand through his hair. "A year or so, okay?"

"A whole year!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"Sorry! But... wow! An entire year?"

"Close to it, yeah."

"I had no idea! What an awful friend I am!"

"You're not an awful friend, don't be so dramatic." Rin dismisses that nonsense with a wave of his hand. "No one knows, we're not exactly public, like, _at all_. Which reminds me, don't tell Haru."

Makoto's shoulders sag. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that of me. He always knows when I'm keeping something from him."

"You can't tell him."

"Why not?"

"Need I remind what happened between him and Sousuke? They don't like each other."

"True... but if you're happy with him I don't see why Haru wouldn't –"

"Nope! Stopping you right there! That is not a discussion I want to get into right now, just promise me you won't say anything to Haru until I'm ready to say something to him about it."

"I'll do my best!"

"Ugh, good, enough of that." Rin grabs more of Makoto's stuff to sort it into the right places. "Tell me how Haru's doing, I haven't spoken to him in... jeez, a few weeks, maybe a month."

"He's good! Busy with swimming, but he likes where he's at."

"You still talk daily?"

"Close to, yeah. It's just on days where we both get too busy that we don't talk."

"We'll have to Skype with him sometime."

"Be prepared to see him in the bathtub."

Rin laughs. "Some things haven't changed."

Conversation is easy to fall into and while they unpack, they talk about different things from school to Iwatobi. Between the two of them, it doesn't take long to get what Makoto needs put away and all the space that had been between them before swiftly closes. Rin's at ease and teases every chance he gets just to watch Makoto flush and squirm.

Despite the rift this has put between himself and Sousuke and his own mixed up feelings, he's glad Makoto's here.

**To Be Continued**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sour**

Waiting for Rin to come to bed is the worst and after hour three, Sousuke's openly worrying. He wants to go check on Rin to make sure everything is okay, but he doesn't trust himself to behave. When he does hear Rin finally coming in, Sousuke quickly closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep as Rin quietly creeps into the room.

"Don't even try it," Rin says as he slides under the covers with him, "I know you're awake."

"Took you long enough."

"Sorry, we got caught up talking."

"For that long?"

"Yeah." Sousuke's back is to Rin. "No need to be so grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy."

"It's dark in here, but I can _hear_ your grumpiness."

Sousuke snorts. "That's impossible."

A hand runs up along Sousuke's back lightly, it's just the tips of Rin's fingers.

"Give him a chance," Rin consoles. "He's a great friend if you let him."

Tendrils of jealousy start to constrict Sousuke's insides, but the feeling isn't as intense as he thinks it probably should be. He wants to hate Makoto for being part of the reason Rin changed schools, but at the same time in a very loose sense, he understands where Rin's coming from. That doesn't mean he's happy about how things are or that Rin's off the hook, it only means he has reason to be a little less harsh in his criticisms.

That, however, doesn't change the fact that a huge part of him doesn't want to give Makoto any kind of chance at all.

Rin's hands are teasing along his back and it isn't long before he's relaxing into the touch. He's familiar with Rin's hands, with everything about Rin, and he wants it to be like this, just them.

"You tired?"

"I don't feel much like sleeping."

Rin sighs and scratches at his scalp the way he likes. "Then I'll just have to stay up with you, won't I?"

"No."

"Don't be difficult." Rin's hand slides down Sousuke's back, then ventures up to ghost along his side down to his hip. "We can't end the day on a bad note."

Sousuke wants to remain steadfast and resolute, but who's he kidding? He sighs and some of the tension in his body leaves him as Rin's hand continues to lightly move up and down his body. Sousuke has to bite back a noise when Rin starts using his nails and applies pressure in just the right spots.

"Tomorrow won't be so bad," Rin promises softly.

"You don't know that."

Rin's hand doesn't pause. "But I do know I'll be right here with you. I know this isn't what you want exactly, but if you got to know him I think you'd understand where I'm coming from."

"Can you understand at all why I'm not very inclined to do that?"

"Yeah," Rin scoots a little closer and Sousuke lets him do it, "I get it." They aren't touching except for Rin's hand, now motionless, resting on Sousuke's hip, but they're close enough that Sousuke can feel Rin's body heat. "Now might not be the best time to say this, but thanks." Sousuke grunts in acknowledgment, but doesn't feel he deserves any gratitude. "And might I say, you're putting up a lot of protest for someone that thought about fucking his face."

"I have no idea where that came from."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound sure."

Sousuke frowns to himself. "Why aren't you bothered? Shouldn't you want me to _not_ think about someone else like that?"

"I would definitely be bothered if it were about literally anyone else, but I pushed you into that situation, remember? I wanted you two to hit it off and for you to like him." Rin gives Sousuke's hip a gentle squeeze. "Have you had any thoughts like that since he got here?"

"No," Sousuke answers truthfully. "It was... that was just an in the moment type of thing, I think. He's... weird."

"Weird?"

"Too nice and – and innocent, maybe? Just _weird _and I wanted to break that, I guess? But now that he's here I just want him out."

"Don't like sharing a room with me?" Rin teases and Sousuke elbows him just hard enough to make him grunt.

"No, he's just in our space and I don't like that."

Rin sighs and Sousuke feels the resultant breath on the back of his neck. "I get it, alright? You did really good tonight, considering."

"Good?" Sousuke echoes, incredulous. "I could barely get myself to say anything at all! One wrong move and I was ready to yell at him to get the fuck out."

"But you didn't."

"Would have if I hadn't kept my distance."

Rin's silent for a bit, then asks, "Is it really that hard for you to have him here?"

There's a hint of pain in Rin's voice and Sousuke is definitely torn over this. He always wants to give Rin whatever he desires, but of course this is difficult because he's just not comfortable. Makoto is weirdly nice and Sousuke isn't stupid enough to call him unattractive, in fact, how attractive Makoto is – objectively, of course – is a _problem_. Because Rin finds him attractive and that, too, is a _problem_.

He thinks this question over carefully, he does want to give into Rin's inclinations, but he also wants to get the intruder out of his territory. He's a possessive bastard, he knows it, Rin knows it, but it has never really gotten in the way of anything between them before. He doesn't stop Rin from making new friends or being social, he doesn't want to stop Rin from that stuff, but he sure as hell wants to go into Rin's room, grab Makoto, and bodily throw him out the door on his ass. It's different now because he knows Rin has feelings for that buffoon and even though he does trust Rin implicitly, his possessiveness now has a louder voice than ever.

He doesn't always handle himself well, the first time he went after Nanase being a perfect example. Sousuke really doesn't do so great when his feelings take hold and shadow everything he does, most especially negative ones. He gets nervous, even anxious, and tends to fuck up a whole hell of a lot more since he hasn't learned a good way to express himself. Even now he's clenching his fists and he doesn't recall when he'd started doing that. He regrets how he'd handled Nanase and he hasn't said anything to the guy since that last confrontation before the meet, he doesn't know what words to say.

Just like right now, he simply can't find words.

"I don't know."

"Could you maybe give it a little time?"

Sousuke frowns and Rin's thumb starts moving in soothing circular motions on his hip. "What exactly am I giving time?"

"Just to get to know him, I'd like for you to be friends."

It seems so innocent when it's said like that and he knows there's no ulterior motive behind it, but Sousuke's stomach still twists uncomfortably. He suddenly so childishly doesn't want to be Makoto's friend, doesn't want to try, just wants him out, out, _out_. He really hates how vulnerable this all is making him and he hates even more that right then he wants to ask Rin a very stupid, _Am I enough for you?_ The question almost makes it passed his lips, but he's able to bite his tongue in time. He knows he's enough for Rin, their relationship is an strong, honest one and if Rin were dissatisfied in any way he'd say so.

Sousuke's hands clench and unclench, his fingers feeling achy from how tight he's holding them. What's he supposed to do? He wants to try because that's what Rin wants from him, but he's also so uneasy about the whole thing that trying doesn't seem worth it. He's more likely to snap at Makoto and pull Rin to him to kiss him than he is to give Makoto any kind of _chance_ to be _friends_. Sousuke doesn't make friends easy as it is, what's he supposed to do with a too happy and suspiciously over polite idiot?

"Not that I don't enjoy looking at the back of your head, you have very nice hair and all, good neck, too, but could you possibly turn around?"

Sousuke debates whether he should or not until Rin's hand gives his hip a needy little tug and squeeze. Cussing his own weak resilience, he wriggles around so they're facing each other, but makes sure to keep that bit of distance between them.

"Hi," Rin says with a half-smile.

"Hey," Sousuke replies, frowning.

Rin pokes at the little downturn of Sousuke's lips at the right corner. "You've been doing this a lot lately."

"Hard to imagine why," he replies dryly.

Grimacing, Rin taps his finger against Sousuke's frown a couple times, then cups his neck and runs his thumb along his jaw in a steady back and forth. It feels good and Sousuke unwittingly relaxes, his gut still procuring cursed butterflies even after almost a year of this. Sometimes he almost can't stand being the center of Rin's attention, it can feel like _too much_, but he constantly craves more of it. He's sure now that there's no such thing as getting enough attention from him, Sousuke will never grow tired of this.

"Do you want there to be, like... rules or something?"

Sousuke's brows furrow. "Rules?"

"Yeah, to make things easier for you if you need it."

"Like what?"

Rin shrugs. "Dunno, whatever it takes? Could text you if I'm ever alone with him and let you know what we're doing? Stuff like that."

"That seems so controlling," Sousuke says immediately even though the idea gives him a little hope, frail though it is.

"It would be under any other circumstances." Rin does that thing where he scratches at Sousuke's scalp and it feels so good his lashes flutter against his will. "I know you're not like that, but this situation isn't normal. I'm offering, too, so this is my idea, not yours."

Sousuke swallows and asks with some reluctance, "You'd be okay with doing that?"

"Definitely."

"And... and you'll tell me if you get anymore... thoughts? About him?"

"Only if you do the same."

"Done."

"Good." Rin gives Sousuke's earlobe a slight tug. "You can kiss me now, I think I've earned it."

Sousuke doesn't say anything, he just presses forward to kiss this fickle, surprisingly and sporadically insightful moron right on the mouth. Rin greets him with warmth and gets both arms around his shoulders to pull him closer. He flicks his tongue against Rin's bottom lip and groans softly when he opens his mouth for him. He kisses Rin slowly and languidly, taking his time with sweeping his tongue from one side of Rin's mouth to the other. The clawing, possessive creature inside his chest has him kissing Rin harder, pushing him onto his back with Sousuke over him. He swallows the sound of Rin's low moan and cards a hand through his hair as they kiss, pulling hard enough to elicit another moan.

He only pulls back when they're both suitably out of breath, but he stays hovering over Rin just a little longer. He studies the way his fingers look tangled in Rin's hair and takes his time suppressing the stirrings of arousal in his groin. It's already late and sleep is still a ways off for him, he's just content enough right with their nearness. He gives Rin a few soft closed mouth kisses and Rin remains compliant, letting him do what he pleases.

"That's better," Rin says as Sousuke rests his head on his shoulder. Rin kisses his brow, adding, "It's gonna be okay."

He wishes he could share Rin's optimism, but Sousuke has a bad feeling about this that won't go away.

-o-O-o-

Sousuke stretches his arms up above his head and back behind his head, enjoying the burn of his muscles. His hair is still wet from his latest dive in the pool and he's catching his breath from one of his longer sets of the day. He's watching Rin right now, he's in the pool doing laps to his own training regime and his form is pretty shit today. It's not _bad_, just sloppy, and that's probably because of how late they'd stayed up last night.

He doesn't feel bad about it, not one bit, he can't feel bad about time where it's just him and Rin.

"Yamazaki! You've been doing that stretch long enough!"

Sousuke isn't at all bothered by the rigid call of his coach and doesn't bat at an eye at the use of his name like that, it's just how their coach is. He switches his stretch and bends his arms behind his back. Both shoulders give pleasant aches, but he's still gentler on his right one out of habit. That isn't to say he stretches it less, far from it, he just eases into the stretches a little more carefully. He gives himself time to adjust to the position before he presses steadily into the ache and keeps it up until his muscles are screaming that they can't take any more.

He releases the position with a sigh of gratification and rolls his right shoulder just to test for any pain. To this day, it _still _surprises him when there isn't any, not even a twinge. Every now and then he might get a little pang, but it's usually a very fleeting feeling, something that's, dare he believe, _normal_. He asked Rin about it once, just wondered if he ever got random twitches of pain and he'd been very reassuring that he did from time to time. Rin has been instrumental in everything involving Sousuke's shoulder, his procedure, his recovery, his hours and hours of physical therapy. Rin, who isn't the most patient person in the world by any standard, is the key reason Sousuke is where he's at right now.

He can't actually imagine any part of his recovery without Rin and he for sure wouldn't have been as mindful of his body's need to heal before he began physical therapy. It's Rin that talked him down when he got frustrated, Rin that made sure he ate on his low mental health days, Rin that kept pushing him when he thought he couldn't go any further, Rin that stayed up with him when he was in too much discomfort to sleep – Rin is his epicenter, in many ways. Without Rin, Sousuke knows he would have succumbed to the depression that had tried to wrap itself around him after his surgery. Such lows are common with those kinds of things, but Rin had remained upbeat and had challenged him every step of the way.

Sousuke had gotten lucky in a lot of ways, first and foremost being the obvious point of having Rin by his side. Second, upon getting accepted into this university in Tokyo, he'd managed to get on the swim team as a reserve based on his prior performances and recognition. Last, the timing for his surgery and the duration of his recovery couldn't have worked better in his favor. He'd gotten his procedure – a fairly simple routine one, according to the doctor – done right away after the relay and his recovery took up all the months until school began. He still doesn't believe himself to be at one hundred percent yet, but he has worked his way out of reserves and has earned the respect of his coach and teammates.

Rin is much more involved with the team than Sousuke is, but that's a given considering his social prowess. Sousuke doesn't mind hanging back and he doesn't even mind that probably about half the team is more or less intimidated by him. He gets to swim and, more importantly, he gets to swim with Rin. Unlike before, he and Rin are great being on the same team since they've found a way to keep things competitive and balanced. The team hasn't had any big meets yet, but both Rin and Sousuke are looking forward to taking each other on in the butterfly. It's one of the goals Rin had taunted him with to keep him focused when he'd had sweat pouring down his face as he struggled with just one more repetition lifting weights or one more round with physical therapy.

As far as times go, Sousuke's... getting there. He's not where he wants to be yet, but Rin's optimism is almost scarily infectious. Sousuke _is _doing well enough to be noticed by the paper and be asked to do an interview, but he isn't doing well enough to feel comfortable acknowledging himself in the swimming world yet. His right arm still feels a little too off, like it's not quite his own yet. It has muscle, it has definition, it has its tone, but he can't help feeling his left arm has a slight edge on his right one. He feels great in the water, but he's not quite syncing up in the way he used to, the way that came naturally to him. He's thinking that when he gets that feeling back he'll be more comfortable, but until then he can only keep trying and continue getting stronger.

Bending forward, he reaches down and wraps his hands around his calves. He's only halfway through his sets for the practice and he can already tell both he and Rin are going to be exhausted afterward. All of this activity at least keeps his mind off Makoto and he finds the water extra freeing because of that. He might have to open his apartment to Makoto for the time being, but the pool is a space for himself and Rin only.

"Yamazaki, to the starting block lane four!"

Their coach, Kenta, is a large, broad man with a voice that can reach every angle of the pool. He's strict, but fair, and has an eye for potential. When Sousuke had gone to him to explain his situation, he'd been met with understanding and a huge willingness to help. No promises had been made about receiving an official spot on the team, but Kenta had worked with Sousuke on good regimes for him and pushed him just enough without it being overbearing. Sousuke's proud he earned his place and Kenta still works with him with just as much loyalty as before. Slowly, Kenta is pulling Sousuke's potential to the forefront and he can feel his form coming back without the shadow of his injury hanging over him.

He climbs onto the starting block and puts on his cap and goggles, then stretches both arms one last time with tricep and shoulder pulls. He feels limber and smooth as he bends down into his starting position, his fingers resting gently against the block. His eyes should be on his own lane, but they're not, they're trained on Rin as he folds and tucks into a turn on the far side of the pool. It's irritating that Kenta learned right away not to put them in lanes next to each other because they always end up racing or distracting each other. So now they have to contend with being on opposite sides of the pool at least ninety percent of the time and Sousuke doesn't see it as entirely fair.

Sousuke hears his call to go and launches himself off the starting block into a dive. This is endurance training, so his goal isn't to complete the set as fast as he can, but as _well_ as he can. He dolphin kicks a decent ways, then surfaces into his freestyle. He's supposed to switch back and forth, fifty meters in freestyle, fifty meters in butterfly, again and again until he reaches fifteen hundred meters. One of the swimmers on reserve is keeping track for him, so every time he reaches his starting point a plastic board with adjustable numbers will be held underwater for him to keep track of how far he has gone and how much he has left to go.

The first seven hundred are easy and go by pretty fast, but by the thousand mark he's really feeling the struggle. The water starts to feel more like it's pulling on him rather than letting him slide through it and all his muscles are being put into propelling him forward. This is why it's endurance training and it's even harder on him because of his size and the fact that he's not all that great at longer distances. Anything between a one hundred and a two hundred is good for him, he can really excel at those distances, but lengths more than that sap him of his stamina reserves.

For the last fifty meters, he's really digging deep and feeling the burn. It's in his arms, shoulders, stomach, legs, it's in every goddamn part of him. It feels _good_ in that really fucked up adrenaline high kind of way, but it also feels _terrible_ in that if he goes much longer his stomach is going to collapse in on itself and he's going to puke up his protein packed power bar lunch.

As soon as Sousuke's hands touch the wall, he's on his feet, gasping for air, and he pulls his goggles down around his neck. Taking off his cap, he shakes his head out and sends droplets of water flying. It always feels good to take that stupid thing off, however, it doesn't help him get his breath back any faster.

"Not bad," Rin comments and hands Sousuke a water bottle.

"I hate those sets," he replies back between breaths before chugging some water that hits his stomach like a cold kick in the gut.

"They're good for you."

"I'll be sure to remind you of that the next time coach makes you do extra sprints for mouthing off."

"That's different."

"It's not." He hands the water bottle back after drinking a bit more and pulls himself out of the pool. "You almost done?"

"Yeah, just one more thing before cool down. You?"

"Same."

"Not another fifteen hundred, I hope, you look about ready to keel over."

"I do not," he says indignantly – but who's he trying to fool when his body feels like jelly? "I just have short sprints left. Six fifty meter sprints with a minute rest in between, three butterfly and three freestyle."

"I might have to carry you home."

Sousuke bumps his shoulder into Rin's. "As if you could! I've seen what you've had to do today, you're going to be useless later."

"Nah! I'll get my second wind!"

"You always say that and then it never happens."

"Oh ye of little faith!" Rin chastises with a big smile that Sousuke stares at.

After a moment of silence, he whispers, "You're dead inside, aren't you?"

Rin's smile doesn't falter. "So dead. I have nothing left. _How_ I'm going to do my last set without drowning, I don't know."

They both laugh, Rin loudly, Sousuke more reserved, but then they sigh as one. The ghost of a smile stays on Rin's face, but he's obviously reaching the level of burnt out that will leave him being an unmoving lump on the couch for the rest of the evening. They'll both be sore tomorrow, but the day after more intense practices is always a lot easier to give them time to recover.

Rin touches the inside of Sousuke's wrist without looking at him and the smirk on his face is wrought with mischief.

"If you're trying to give me a boner in my bathing suit, it's not going to work."

"Good thing I'm not trying."

"Matsuoka! Lane eight!"

Rin gives Sousuke's arm a playful punch, then he's making his way to the specified lane. Sousuke eyes Rin's back as he goes and wishes that he could mark up that paler flesh the way he wants to. He'd gotten an earful about the mark on himself that has yet to totally fade, but everyone suspects he has a girlfriend. He's sure no one thinks that person is Rin and that's really quite frustrating.

He watches Rin until it's his own turn to get back to the pool and he's very glad this is the last leg of practice. It goes by quick and a nice cool down after such a strenuous day feels great. After practice is done, they take quick showers with their bathing suits on, then change into dry clothes for the walk home. It's not easy being in a relationship with someone who isn't ready to be public and it isn't like Sousuke's bothered by that, he's more than fine with Rin taking whatever time he needs to feel comfortable with something like that.

However, what Sousuke takes issue with is that Rin isn't forthcoming about it with _anyone_. To date, there's only one person privy to such information and it's the guy currently invading Sousuke's space and territory. Even with Makoto, Rin had wanted to somehow keep his and Sousuke's relationship covered up and that's really bothering. He doesn't think Rin's ashamed of him and a lot of the problems here revolve around the fact that Sousuke really doesn't know what Rin's issue is, especially when he's usually so loud and boisterous about things.

Sousuke has tried to talk to him about it before, several times, but all Rin says is that he's not ready and so Sousuke gives him space. He's happy with what they have and it's not hugely important to him that they be public. What he'd really just like is to be able to call themselves boyfriends and it'd be nice to have a little more commitment than the occasional acknowledgment that they're together. Sousuke isn't an actively insecure person, but he's human enough to want some reassurances from time to time.

They're just getting off the bus at their stop when Sousuke can't keep things in anymore. The closer they get to the apartment, the more nervous he gets and he hates that. He hates being in this position, he should never _dread_ going home with Rin. They're alone during this part of their journey, so he deems it safe enough to ask the first question on his mind.

"Was he your first crush?"

Rin rolls his eyes. "Really? You want to go there?"

"Yeah. Was he?"

"Maybe." Rin tilts his head back thoughtfully so he's looking up at the sky. "Probably not... but maybe, I don't know."

"How can you _not know_?"

"Well, do _you _know who your first crush was?"

Sousuke gives him a very bemused and pointed look. "You can't be serious right now."

"Okay..." Rin's face turns red, "maybe that was a stupid question."

"You think?"

"Man, I don't know! I don't really remember stuff that way. I just went off feelings based on who I felt good with, who made me happy, I never stopped to wonder _why _I felt the way I did."

"But he was a crush?"

"Hell yeah, still is. Don't give me that look, I told you this already. It's kind of how we found ourselves in this particular situation."

Sousuke scowls anyway and forces himself not to ask or say anything else. Turns out, getting answers to his questions don't make him feel any better about this. He still wants to know a lot of things, but his desire to not know has become that much stronger. Reaching their apartment makes him feel worse and he climbs the stairs to their floor slowly behind Rin, his feet seeming heavier with each step he takes. Their door looms in front of them and Rin opens it to lead the way inside, but not before shooting Sousuke an encouraging look.

"What's that smell?" Rin asks as they take off their shoes.

Sousuke finishes kicking off his second shoe and Rin straightens the two pairs up before they walk into the kitchen. Makoto's at the table with two large textbooks and a spiral notebook in front of him, his brows slightly furrowed. When he looks up, though, that furrow disappears and he smiles genially.

"Welcome back! Hope you don't mind I used the kitchen."

Sousuke stays put in the entryway of the hall, but Rin walks forward and dumps his bag next to one of the chairs.

"You cook?"

"Only for myself every once in awhile." Rin inspects the pots on the stove. "I'm not used to cooking for three."

Rin's sniffing one of the pots. "I didn't know you cook."

"I usually don't! Haru does it when I'm with him, so..." Makoto's biting his lip and his hands are clenching and unclenching subconsciously on the table. "I – I only started when I got tired of microwavable stuff."

Instead of answering, Rin grabs a bowl and starts dishing out food, Sousuke can see the smile on his face from behind in the way his cheeks are crinkled.

"Sousuke, get your ass in here, I'm making you a bowl."

Sousuke debates, but finally moves away from the hall and sets his bag gingerly down next to Rin's. Whatever Makoto made, it smells decent and Sousuke isn't dumb enough to forgo food just to make a point that would, ultimately, only piss Rin off in the end. He doesn't look at Makoto though, he doesn't want to invite conversation.

"Look great," Rin comments.

Makoto's shoulders pinch and he quickly moves his books back to allow more room. "It's just a simple udon with some fried rice, nothing special."

Sousuke sits at the table just as Rin sets a bowl steaming with udon down in front of him. Rin puts his own bowl down as well and a moment later a plate piled with fried rice is put between them to share.

"How was your day?" Makoto asks, speaking to Rin, of course.

"Busy! Coach was at my throat today."

"Why?"

"Bah," Rin waves a hand, flinging a piece of rice across the table on accident, "no reason, he's just a hardass."

"You were late," Sousuke says under his breath.

Rin kicks him under the table. "Like I said, he was just being a hardass. What did you do today?"

"Just classes, really."

"You leave really early, I didn't know there are classes available at such an ungodly hour."

"Oh, no, that wasn't for class." Makoto mindlessly soothes down the wrinkled corner of his book, Sousuke can't help but notice from his peripherals. "I go running in the morning a few days a week and usually work out for awhile afterward."

"That explains why you're still in such good shape," Rin says and Makoto flushes.

"It's just something to do! It's a hard habit to break." He looks down at his book and drums his fingers against it with a somber smile. "Weird getting used to doing it by myself."

"You know, we go for runs in the morning, too."

"By we," Sousuke grumbles, "he means me."

"Oi! I go sometimes!"

"Yeah? When was the last time you got your ass out of bed and ran with me?"

"A... few days?"

"Try a few weeks."

"It's early! We already go to morning practice half the week and have dryland, sometimes I just don't see the point in going on runs on top of that!"

"It's for endurance."

"I'd rather be swimming."

"And that's why I run alone."

Sousuke hears his own error right after he says the words and before he can rectify himself, Rin gives him a truly devilish smirk.

"You won't need to anymore now that Makoto's here."

It's Rin's way of trying to get Sousuke to give the whole friendship thing a try, but he's already so fervently against it. He glares at Rin and shoves food into his mouth so he doesn't have to answer, but then he freezes. Dammit... the food is good. Not great, the noodles are slightly undercooked, but the flavors are spot on. There's some heat to it, a nice kick that Sousuke hadn't expected, and the rest is almost creamy smooth. He's not used to eating like this unless he and Rin go out or if he's back home and he kind of loathes it.

Makoto and Rin have started talking and Sousuke makes a point to keep his mouth shut – meaning, full of food. He devours it and hates himself a little bit for being so ravenous, but after the practice they just had, there's no way he couldn't _not_ eat like a starved animal. The fried rice is okay, too, if a bit under-seasoned. The only time Sousuke tunes back in from his _eat mode_ is when Rin's standing up and leaving the table.

"I'm going to pack the rest of this up, is that okay?"

"Of course, it's all yours!"

"I'm taking it for lunch."

"Way to ask if I want to take any," Sousuke says and instantly bites his tongue.

Rin sends him a glare. "Tomorrow is a Friday, we usually eat together, idiot. I'll share with you."

"That won't be enough for both of us."

"How about you not be a dick for a little while? You really started souring on the walk home." Rin looks to Makoto and asks without any harshness, "Could you possibly make more?"

"More? Right now?"

"No! Not now, just the next time you want to cook something. Sousuke and I swim, obviously, so we eat a ton of food. I'd go for seconds and probably thirds if I didn't want to save the rest for lunch tomorrow."

Makoto's face is red, Sousuke hadn't meant to glance at him. "O-oh."

"So, make more?"

"Sure! I mean, if that's what you want! It's really nothing special! Just some rice and – and the udon –"

"Can you make other things?"

"Yes."

"Great! It's settled."

Makoto's wringing his hands. "If that's what you want?"

"It is, this is way better than power bars."

Sousuke hates to agree, but it's true, though, he makes no attempt to voice that. He finishes eating in a few quick and impossibly huge bites, then decides to make himself scarce. He avoids looking at Makoto as he takes his and Rin's empty dishes to the sink. How Rin finished before him, he isn't sure, but he's also not all that surprised. He rinses out their dishware and puts them in the washer where Makoto's own dishes currently reside. Somehow, that's annoying and Sousuke glares at it before mumbling to Rin that he's going for a shower. He bolts and hates that it feels like he's fleeing as he leaves Rin and Makoto's voices behind, his palms sweaty and his stomach twisting.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
